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Questioning the Privatisation of Public Space
Nerve opens a debate about how our common land is used
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and
Liverpool history from its beginning is one of privatisation of public
assets. In 1208 King John created Liverpool with an income, so that it
could be managed by a council of its residents, independent of its neighbouring
Lords. King Henry III, needing money, forgot the contract and sold the
town to the highest bidder, so the income necessary to maintain the town
was forfeited to the new owner and the town could not flourish. It took
several hundred years and the Civil War to give the townspeople the courage
to argue and win their rights back again.
What does 'public' mean in this context?
Dictionary definitions indicate the word's Latin roots (poplicas, populous):
maintained at the expense of, serving, or for the use of a community (e.g.
a library or park); and open and accessible for all, the people as a whole.
So 'held in common' may be a more meaningful term.
Do we (still) have identifiable public spaces?
For instance, is there a difference between Sefton Park and Chavasse Park
in Liverpool 1?
At a time of great wealth in the City, Sefton Park was originally established
on land bought by the City Council, which put the project out to competition
and commissioned a French landscape designer to establish the site as
a park for the people, with income-generating houses around the perimeter.
The smaller Princes Park, the first park to have public access (but which
was not publicly commissioned), was also ringed by big houses, designed
to cover the costs of the maintenance of the park. After the 1914/1918
war, these households could no longer afford to cover these costs, and
the park was given to the City Council to own and maintain.
Parts of this park are now being sold off.
Glendale now manages every park across Liverpool. So does this put the
parks virtually into private hands?
As for Chavasse Park, the public don't have a 'legal' right to walk through
it, or anywhere else in Liverpool 1, because the area belongs to the Duke
of Westminster's Grosvenor group and private businesses. But have some
of threats to our free movement here been exaggerated? There was a fear
that Liverpool 1 would have heavy handed private security keeping out
undesirables, but you don't get this sense when you walk through it.
Is common right similar, different or more
powerful than public ownership?
Certainly, the understanding of community ownership of our assets is not
understood by the Council. Maybe this is because the residents have little
financial credibility compared to, for instance, the level of discussion
in Curtiba (Brazil), where residents have control of at least 30% of the
budget, via what is called 'participatory budgeting', or Middlesbrough
and Wrexham (UK) with similar arrangements.
Are there any innovative examples of maintaining
public spaces, in the UK?
Between the 1930s and 1950s (Beveridge/NHS/ education/transport/mining/utilities,
etc.), an ambitious programme of concerted public ownership was established
for the benefit of society as a whole. This contrasts sharply with the
neoliberal shift of the last 30+ years, with its emphasis on individualism,
competitiveness, consumerism, fragmentation and privatisation, which has
supplanted and disparaged ideas of social ownership and public ownership,
with private ownership as the singular and individual virtue and goal.
What are we denying ourselves if we give up
on public space / open space?
The importance of opportunities for being outdoors, in open (green) spaces,
is now well accepted, regarding its value for mental health and wellbeing,
as well as physical fitness, though there remain doubts that those most
in need use these spaces or their facilities. We also note the relevance
of human rights: to education, play, recreation and enjoyment, for example.
In these terms, in Liverpool we need every open space we have.
1. In what other ways does the design of privately owned consumer streets
control behaviour?
2. How can we protect and get back our public spaces? Comments please
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